Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Hannah Gives Thanks
2 Hannah prayed [L and said; C Hannah’s prayer is similar to Psalm 113 and Mary’s song in Luke 1:46–55]:
“·The Lord has filled my heart with joy [L My heart rejoices/exults in the Lord];
·I feel very strong in the Lord [My strength/L horn is exalted/lifted up in the Lord; C a lifted horn symbolizes strength, based on an animal lifting its head triumphantly]
·I can laugh at [L My mouth mocks/derides] my enemies;
I ·am glad [rejoice/delight] because you have ·helped [saved; rescued; delivered] me!
2 “There is no one ·holy [set apart] like the Lord.
There is no ·God but [one besides] you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3 “·Don’t continue bragging [Talk/Boast no more so proudly/haughtily],
·don’t speak proud words [don’t let such arrogance come out of your mouth].
The Lord is a God who ·knows everything [is wise],
and he ·judges [weighs] what people do.
4 “The bows of ·warriors [the mighty] ·break [are shattered],
but ·weak people [L those who stumbled/tottered] ·become strong [L gird on strength].
5 Those who ·once had plenty of food [were well fed] now ·must work [hire themselves out] for ·food [bread],
but people who were hungry ·are hungry no more [grow fat].
The woman who ·could not have children [was barren] now ·has [L gives birth to] seven,
but the woman who had many children now ·is sad [L wastes away; languishes].
6 “The Lord ·sends death [kills],
and he ·brings to [gives] life.
He ·sends people to the grave [brings down to Sheol; C the grave or the place of the dead],
and he raises ·them to life again [L up].
7 The Lord makes some people poor,
and others he makes rich.
He ·makes some people humble [brings low/down],
and others he ·makes great [lifts up; exalts].
8 The Lord ·raises [lifts] the poor up from the dust,
and he lifts the needy from the ·ashes [garbage heap].
He ·lets the poor sit [sets/seats the poor] with princes
and ·receive [L they inherit] a throne of honor.
“The ·foundations [pillars] of the earth belong to the Lord,
and the Lord ·set [poised] the world upon them.
9 He ·protects [L guards the feet/steps of] those who are ·loyal [faithful] to him,
but ·evil people [the wicked] will ·be silenced [disappear] in darkness.
·Power is not the key to success [L For no one succeeds/prevails by strength alone].
10 The Lord ·destroys [shatters] ·his enemies [those who oppose/fight against him];
he will thunder ·in [from] heaven against them.
The Lord will judge ·all [throughout; L the ends of] the earth.
He will give ·power [strength] to his king
and ·make his appointed king strong [L exalt the horn of his anointed/anointed one; 2:1].”
God Calls Samuel
3 The boy Samuel ·served [ministered before] the Lord under Eli. In those days ·the Lord did not speak directly to people very often [L the word from the Lord was rare]; there were very few visions.
2 Eli’s eyes were so ·weak [dim] he ·was almost blind [L could not see]. One night he was lying in ·bed [his usual place]. 3 Samuel was ·also in bed [L lying down] in the Lord’s ·house [sanctuary; temple], where the Ark of God [C another name for the Ark of the Covenant; 4:3] was. God’s lamp [C probably the Menorah] ·was still burning [had not yet gone out].
4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he answered, “I am here!” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”
But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back ·to bed [and lie down].” So Samuel went back ·to bed [and lay down].
6 The Lord called again, “Samuel!”
Samuel again went to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”
Again Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back ·to bed [and lie down].”
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and ·the Lord had not spoken directly to him yet [L the word of the Lord had not been revealed to him before].
8 The Lord called Samuel for the third time. Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”
Then Eli ·realized [understood; perceived; discerned that] the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So he told Samuel, “Go ·to bed [lie down]. If he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord. ·I am your servant and I am […for your servant is] listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in ·bed [his place].
10 The Lord came and stood there and called as he had before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel said, “·Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am [L Speak, for your servant is] listening.”
11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Watch, I am going to do something in Israel that will ·shock [L make the ears ring/tingle of] those who hear about it. 12 ·At that time [L In that day] I will ·do to [carry out against] Eli and his ·family [L house] everything I ·promised [threatened; spoke], from beginning to end. 13 I told Eli I would ·punish [judge] his ·family always [L house forever], because ·he knew his sons were evil [of the sin/iniquity he knew of]. They ·cursed God[a] [blasphemed], but he did not ·stop [correct; discipline; rebuke] them. 14 So I swore to Eli’s ·family [L house], ‘Your ·guilt [sins; iniquity] will never be ·removed [forgiven; atoned for; expiated] by sacrifice or offering.’”
15 Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the ·house [temple] of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision, 16 but Eli called to him, “Samuel, my son!”
Samuel answered, “I am here.”
17 Eli asked, “·What did the Lord say [What word/message did he speak/give] to you? Don’t hide it from me. May God ·punish you terribly [L do so to you, and more also,] if you hide from me anything he said to you.” 18 So Samuel told Eli everything and did not hide anything from him. Then Eli said, “He [or It] is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks ·is best [good].”
The Story of the Evil Farmers(A)
12 [Then] Jesus began ·to use stories to teach the people [L to speak to them in parables; see 3:23]. He said, “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it and dug a ·hole [vat; pit] for a winepress and built a tower [C to protect against thieves; see Is. 5:1–7 for the background to this parable]. Then he leased the land to some [C tenant] farmers and left for a trip [C the owner represents God, the farmers are Israel’s religious leaders]. 2 When it was time for the grapes to be picked, he sent a ·servant [slave] to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. 3 But the farmers grabbed ·the servant [L him] and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Then the man sent another ·servant [slave]. They ·hit [beat] him on the head and ·showed no respect for [humiliated; dishonored] him. 5 So the man sent another, whom they killed. The man sent many others; the farmers beat some of them and killed others [C the servants represent the prophets God sent to Israel].
6 “The man had one person left to send, his son whom he loved [C representing Jesus; see 1:11; 9:7]. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 “But the farmers said to each other, ‘This son will inherit the vineyard. Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they took the son, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 “So what will the ·owner [lord] of the vineyard do? He will come and ·kill [destroy] those farmers and will give the vineyard to ·other farmers [L others; C referring to the sinners who were responding to Jesus’ call for repentance, and eventually to the Gentiles who would be saved]. 10 ·Surely you have read [L Have you never read…?] this Scripture:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
became the ·cornerstone [capstone; keystone; L head of the corner; C the meaning is uncertain, but clearly refers to the most important stone in the building; Jesus is the rejected stone].
11 The Lord did this,
and it is ·wonderful [amazing; marvelous] ·to us [for us to see; L in our eyes; Ps. 118:22–23].’”
12 The Jewish leaders knew that the ·story [parable] was about them. So they ·wanted to find a way [were seeking/trying] to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid of the people. So the leaders left him and went away.
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